Kennon Green & Company LLC Grows Stock Position in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO)

Kennon Green & Company LLC boosted its stake in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 12.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,107 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the quarter. Kennon Green & Company LLC’s holdings in Diageo were worth $268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Canoe Financial LP boosted its holdings in Diageo by 88,407.3% in the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 8,113,468 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,031,465,000 after acquiring an additional 8,104,301 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Diageo by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,242,065 shares of the company’s stock valued at $735,671,000 after buying an additional 437,646 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Diageo by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,254,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,042,000 after buying an additional 147,920 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Diageo by 30.5% during the 3rd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 1,215,786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $170,623,000 after buying an additional 284,046 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Diageo by 25.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,116,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,759,000 after buying an additional 229,946 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 8.97% of the company’s stock.

Diageo Stock Up 2.4 %

DEO stock opened at $110.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 0.67. Diageo plc has a 12-month low of $105.72 and a 12-month high of $154.71. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $119.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $125.46.

Diageo Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on DEO. TD Cowen increased their target price on Diageo from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Diageo from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $129.00.

Diageo Company Profile

Diageo plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production, marketing, and sale of alcoholic beverages. The company offers scotch, gin, vodka, rum, raki, liqueur, wine, tequila, Chinese white spirits, cachaça, and brandy, as well as beer, including cider and flavored malt beverages. It also provides Chinese, Canadian, Irish, American, and Indian-Made Foreign Liquor whiskies, as well as flavored malt beverages, ready to drink, and non-alcoholic products.